Air conditioner



April 1933- H. T. JOHNSON AIR CONDITIONER Filed March 18, 1932 INVENTORH. T Johnson BY QQM;

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 25, 1933- UNITED STATES, P

manner r. io nrson, or we norms, an} connmom ATENT OFFICE Applicationfiled Iarch 1a, 193;. scim Io. 509,011..

This invention relates devices for conthe motor to the Vibration of theditioning air in rooms, by circulating the air latter is furtherdampened by a sultable hn and by reason of such circulation purifyinging L extending about the mtenorof the the air and also cooling or warmit as well as altering the humidity thereo either to an increased orlessened degree as governed by any particular installation.

The main object of my-invention is tojprovide a self-contained, compactand unitary ap artus of this character which may be eit er made as aortable unit or a permanent installation, y means of which the air into.said 0 the motor but inside the 8. A fan is secured to'this disc whichis in the form of a plurality of blades 9 extendcasing.

The motor is not as large in diameter as the opening 3 sothat air canreadily flow ning all about the motor. Mounted on the motor shaft 7 infront of ing from the periphe of the disc over the will be thusconditioned in a very eflicient motor toward the bac of the casin Themanner and at a minimum of operating expense.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice and yet one which will be exceedingliy eifective for the purposefor which it is eslgned.

blades are disposed radially of the-axis of rotation and their inner-edges are substantially alined with the inner periphery of the flange4, as shown in Fig. 2.

Surrounding the fan inclearance felati'on thereto and, extendingtransversely in .the

These ob ects I accomplish by means of casing'froman overl partsas.wil1' fully appear by a perusal of the following speci cation anddams. In the drawing similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts inthe several views:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus.

'Fi 2 is a transverse vertical'section on the hne 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig 3 is a sectional elevation on the line 3-3ofFig.2. Y

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the means for driving theperforated cone.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawing, the case 1 of the apparatus is preferably flat on the bottomand curved around the top. It is provided in its front face with acircular air discharging opening 2 and ,at the back with 'a relativelysmall intake opening 3 concentric with the opening 2 and surrounded withan inwardly pro ecting flan e 4. An electric motor '5 is disposed in 'tlie casing concentric with the openings and is lower isasoliddiscapgingrgelation to the such structure and relative arrangement of flange4 to adjacent e nt opening 2 is acperforated frusto-conical air conduit10" wh1 is open on both ends and lined with water absorbing fabric'll.The large end of this conduit is at the front'and such end issubstantially the same diameter as the openinfi 2. The conduit'isreinforced against 00 apse b outwardly projecting flanges .12 at its enIt is supported in concentric relation to the motor and other parts bygrooved sheaves 13 mounted in the casing in circumferentially spacedrelation and engaging the front flange 12. One of said sheaves has arelativel large drive pulley 14 associated therewi wh'ch'is connectedindrivingrelation with t 0 motor shaft in front of the disc 8 by a beltor similar drive 15. The fan and conduit are therefore driven inopposite directions and the latter turns at a slower speed than the fan.a I

The bottom portion of the casing is water-tight so as to form a tank 16for the reception of a sup ly of water into which the lower portion 0the conduit, di To prevent the lower fan bladgg from dip- 17 immediatelyabove and parallel to the portion of the conduit. This late extends amthe front of the casing a ut the opening2tothebackflange4andhaswaping1nto the water I provide a guard plate tar-tight connection therewiththe sides of the late being at a height equal to that of the rotation ofthe latter the flaps successively dip into the water and the lining 11is ke t in a moist condition even though the supp y of water in the tankis depleted so that the conduit itself will not dip into the same. y

In operation the air to be conditioned is drawn in through the intakeopening 3 and by the centrifugal action of the fan blades is thrownagainst the wet linin of the conduit and .thence out through thedischarge opening 2 into the room. Any dust etc. in t e air as drawn inis thrown against the wet lining and adheres thereto, and will becarried around until it is washed oif by the water in the bottom tank.The reverse movement of the fan and conduit relative to each othercauses the air passin therebetween to be agitated and aids in t eseparation of the dust and other foreign matter from the air andconsequently enhances the purifying action.

Also the air circulating through the device and coming constantly incontact with the wet lining will be humidified. If a disinfectant isadded to the water in the tank the air will also be disinfected. As thefabric lining is being continually immersed in the water there is notendency for any dissolved salts in the water tohcrystallize on thelining and im air its efliciency. Evaporation of water rom the revolvingconduit by the rapid passage of air therethrough naturally'sets up acoolin effect on the am This may be increased i desired by placing acooling coil arrangement 19 in the bottom of the tank and connectingsaid coil to a refrigeratinglunit or the like so as to chill the waterin t e tank to whatever temperature may be desired. If the coil' isconnected to a heating device the water in the tank will be heated andthe air as circulated'will be corres ondingly warmed.

, ince the humidifying action varies with the temperature it will belessened the cooler the water is kept and increased according as theheat of the water is increased. When the device is constructed as aportable unit-the tank is re-filled with water as needed but in apermanent installation said tank may of course be connected to aconstant source of I water supply to automatically maintain the water int e tank at-a predetermined level. From the foregoingl description itwill be readily seen that I ave roduced such a device as substantiall fus the objects of the invention as set orth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction tions from such detail may be resorted to as do not form adeparture from the spirit of the invention, as efined by-the appendedclaims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

- 1. An air conditionercomprising an opentopped tank for liquid, ahorizontal openended rotary liquid-absorbing air conduit disposedrelative to the tank to dip into the liquid, a fan inside the conduitclear of the liquid, arranged to cause air to be drawn into the conduitfrom one end and to be then thrown into contact with the inner peripheryof the conduit and discharged from the opposite end thereof, and meansto rotate the fan and conduit in opposite directions.

2. An air conditioner comprising an opentopped tank for liquid, a motormounted horizontally over the tank, a fan driven by the motor andcomprising a disc securedon the motor shaft and blades extending fromthe disc over and about the motor, a rotary liquid-absorbing open-endedair conduit about-and spaced from the fan bladesand arranged relative tothe tank to dip into the liquid therein, and means to drive said conduitfrom the motor. i

3. An air conditioner comprising an opentopped. tank for liquid, a motormounted horizontally over the tank, a fan driven by the motor andcomprising a disc secured on the motor shaft and blades extending fromthe disc over and about the motor, a rotary liquid-absorbing open-endedair conduit about and spaced from the fan blades and arranged relativeto the tank to dip into the said conduit om its periphery, and means todrive one of said elements from the motor.

4. An air conditioner comprising an opentopped tank for liquid, a motormounted horizontally over the tank, a fan driven by the motor andcomprising a disc secured on the motor shaft and blades extending fromthe disc over and about the motor, a rotary liquid-absorbing open-endedair' conduit about and spaced from the fan blades and arranged relativeto the tank to dip into the liquid therein, elements turnably supportingsaid conduit from its peri hery, means to rotate the conduit, and a pate disposed between the fan and conduit, said plate extending betweenand having a water-tight fit with the front and back walls of the tank,

and extending circumferentially of the conduit to terminations at alevel above the liquid level in'the tank. a

5. An air conditioner comprising an opentopped tank for liquid, ahorizontal air cone duit disposed relative to the tank to dip into theliquid, a fan mounted on a horizontal of the device, still in practicesuch devia- Y liquid thereinrelements turnably supporting aiis insidethe conduit, and means mounted in them]! to prevent direct contact ofthe fan blades with the li uid even though the level of the liquid is :1ve that of the bot- 5 tom of the fan.

6. An air conditioner comprising an opentopped tank for liquid, ahorizontal air con duit disposed relative to the tank to dip into theliquid, a fan mounted on a horizontal axis inside the conduit, and aplate disposed between the fan and conduit; said plate extending belowthe fan and between and havin a water-tight fit with the front and backw of the tank with its ends terminating on n; level above that of theliquid in the In imony whereof I afiix my signa- 0 I HALBERT T. JOHNSON.

